b 1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to graphical displays and in particular to displaying data within a three-dimensional graphical display space.
2. Summary of the Related Technology
Data and information are fundamentally different from each other. Data, presented as rows and columns of numbers and text, typically is raw and undifferentiated. To be useful, raw data must be organized into intelligible categories. Moreover, data is passive by nature. A user must act on it. Data does not interact with the user. It does not engage the user or grab attention. Data can also be obscure, in the sense that its relevant attributes and relationships are hidden. Normally, the user must conduct an investigation to discover such data relationships.
Information, on the other hand, is organized, active, and accessible because it is presented within a representational scheme that supplies meaning and context. That is, data is grouped into relevant information categories which can be more easily comprehended.
One approach to increasing comprehension of data is data visualization. Data visualization utilizes tools such as display space plots to represent data within a display space defined by the coordinates of each relevant data dimensional axis. Two-dimensional (2D) plots map data into an x-y axis coordinate system. 2D scatter plots are utilized to portray the characteristics of diffuse data. 2D line plots trace the movement of a distinct phenomenon through the x-y space. Three-dimensional (3D) visualization techniques map data into a 3D space with data points filling the visualization space.
3D analogs exist for the 2D scatter plots, for example, 3D color space mappings. 3D color space mappings are analogs as well for 2D line plots in which characterized data are collapsed into specific shapes in 3D display space. For example, a 3D representation can be utilized to graphically represent the temperature gradient within the earth's crust. These 3D mappings work well with data that naturally congeals into distinct objects and shapes, but not so well with data that is by nature diffuse and abstract, with no innate relationship to physical objects. For example, flight simulators map and display physical objects well, however, the inventors are aware of no application which maps data into a navigable landscape of conceptual space. Thus, there is a need for a system that enables a user to represent diffuse and abstract data with intelligible display objects.
Another attempt at data visualization through a 3D mapping is illustrated in the CAM Tree developed by Xerox PARC and described by M. Clarkson, in An Easier Interface, Byte Magazine (Feb. 1991). The CAM Tree is essentially a three-dimensional ROIOdex.TM. with limited ability to represent anything more than the hierarchical structure of a data base. The attributes of the data remain hidden. Thus there is a need for a robust 3D data representation method and apparatus.